MINNEAPOLIS – Since “The Drive” is already taken, maybe they’ll call this “The Quest,” as in Falcon Quest. Regardless of whatever title it is given, the Fal-cons’ final drive in regulation to send the game into overtime won’t be long forgotten in Atlanta.

Dan Reeves saw something similar when he was the Broncos coach. John Elway led Denver on “The Drive” that forced the 1987 AFC Championship Game into overtime where the Broncos beat the Browns.

Yesterday, Reeves was the Falcons’ head coach and his quarterback was Chris Chandler. Atlanta, an eventual 30-27 OT winner over the Vikings, trailed 27-20 with 2:07 remaining in regulation. They had just one timeout and were 71 yards from the end zone.

Viking kicker Gary Anderson, who had not missed a field goal all season, had just missed a 38-yarder that would have given the Vikings a seemingly insurmountable 10-point lead. Still, it was a tall task to drive three-quarters of the field against the Minnesota defense.

It started with a modest 2-yard pass to Brian Kozlowski before the two-minute warning. Chandler then hit Terrance Mathis for nine yards before connecting with Ronnie Harris for a 29-yard gain to the Minnesota 31 After an incomplete pass, Chandler scrambled for nine yards, stumbling to the ground and injuring his knee. That’s when the Falcons called their final timeout with 1:27 left.

“It really wasn’t hurt bad,” Chandler said of his knee.”

Jamal Anderson then ran for six yards to the 16 where Chandler tried to throw an end zone pass that was nearly intercepted by Vike defensive backs Corey Fuller and Robert Griffith. With 57 seconds left, Chandler dropped back again and fired a bullet to Mathis who made the catch just as he crossed the goal line. Tie game, 27-27.

“It would have been nice if we could have won it with a touchdown on that final drive,” said Chandler. “But the fact that we had to go to overtime and get the win was harder to earn. That makes it all the more special.”